Stir-Fried Asparagus Recipe (With Step by Steps)

Servings:

4

This stir-fried asparagus recipe uses a minimal ingredient list—simply salt, pepper, and olive oil—yet it all comes together to create maximum flavor—and in less than 10 minutes. The flavor of the vegetable shines through in this simple preparation, and pairs well with all kinds of proteins. You don’t need a wok or to be a stir-fry pro to make it—and once you try it, you'll be a fan.

The Best Asparagus for Stir-Frying

While any asparagus works for this stir-fried side dish, look for the freshest asparagus you can find. You can make this stir-fry with thin, fat, or medium-sized asparagus spears, but our preference is for medium or thinner ones. Fatter ones will take longer to cook.

How to Wash and Prep Asparagus for Cooking

Wash asparagus carefully under cold running water to remove any traces of fine grit that can linger in the tips.

Asparagus spears have woody ends and many cooks use the bend and snap technique to remove them. Taking one spear at a time, they bend it until it snaps, discarding the lower part. Others argue that is wasteful and time-consuming, and recommend cutting the ends off the spears. This technique makes sense when you will need your chopping board and knife to cut the asparagus into thirds for stir-frying.

Line up asparagus on chopping board; identify where tough part starts (often where the stem starts to fade to white).
Use a sharp knife to chop rough ends off all spears at once.

Directions

Stir fired asparagus ingredients — Credit:
Jake Sternquist

Heat oil and cook asparagus:

In a nonstick skillet or a wok, heat the oil over high heat. Add the asparagus, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes.

Credit:
Jake Sternquist
Add water and cook:

Add the water, and continue to cook until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 3 minutes more.

Credit:
Jake Sternquist

Frequently Asked Questions

Why shouldn’t you break off the ends of asparagus?

Breaking the ends off the asparagus is a popular way to prepare it for cooking, but it’s not our preferred method as it wastes more asparagus than trimming the tough ends off all the asparagus at one time. Using a knife is also a time saver.
Do I need to blanch asparagus before stir-frying it?

Blanching is used for some asparagus recipes, but this stir-fry recipe calls for small pieces of asparagus that cook quickly on the stovetop. Blanching the asparagus would result in overcooked, soft asparagus that lacked the crisp but cooked texture of stir-fried asparagus.
Can you prep the asparagus ahead of time for this dish?

You can prep the asparagus ahead of time, but we don’t recommend it. The recipe is quick to cook and calls for small pieces of asparagus that could dry out if you washed and cut them ahead of cooking. If you wanted to prep the asparagus an hour or two before, that would work fine.